Federal fishing regulators and environmentalists seem to think the best approach to conservation is simply to nickel-and-dime the local fishing fleet out of existence. It’s a contemptible way to handle an industry that helped build the economy in this nation’s coastal states.

Federal law now requires commercial fishing vessels that work beyond 3 nautical miles offshore to undergo updated safety and survival training (previously the requirement was only for vessels beyond 13 miles offshore). And of course safety’s a good thing; fishermen risk their lives with every trip.

But Congress hasn’t funded the grant programs that were created to help the overburdened industry meet those new requirements. So Gov. Charlie Baker and the state’s congressional delegation last week sent a letter to President Obama, asking for funding for federal fishing safety training grants to be included in the president’s 2017 budget.

“While Congress stipulated new safety training, it failed to fund the programs that were specifically created to provide assistance to the fishing community,” Baker and the all-Democratic delegation wrote.

Meanwhile, groundfishermen in the northeast will soon have to shoulder the financial burden of carrying on-board fishing monitors on their vessels while they’re at sea. Federal funds that help pay for the observer program are expected to run out in early 2016. After that the vessels will have to pay for the privilege of carrying monitors who by definition are responsible for limiting their catch, and therefore their income.

(No word on when dairy farmers will have to begin paying for the inspectors who examine their barns.)

Baker has called that mandate “ridiculous and … outrageous” and fishermen in New Hampshire have filed suit against the federal government to challenge it. The governor and the congressional delegation are active and engaged on the issues that are threatening a vital local industry. Perhaps someone in Washington should start listening.